Nebro Ribera del Duero 2013

Finca Villacreces is a 5-star property in Ribera’s ‘Golden Mile’. It lies bang next door to Vega Sicilia, the most famous estate of the appellation, the wines of which sell for £175 a bottle. Indeed, Nebro usually fetches well over a £100 a bottle. However, even top estates need to clear stock of old vintages sometimes and our buyer, Beth, got lucky. She bought this flagship wine at a remarkably good price, but beware there isn't much of it. Winemaker Lluis Laso has used pure Tempranillo from the ultra low yield vineyard, planted in 1917. At 810 metres altitude, the vines benefit from cool mountain air, so the grapes ripen very slowly. Ageing for two years in all-new French oak has lent extra complexity to this intense, elegant star wine.